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HOW. MANY. MORE.
When the massacre in Uvalde Texas happened (May
24, 2022:::::21 dead; 18 injured), I found myself once again pushed
to the edge of hopelessness, overwhelmed by nausea every time
I heard the feeble words “thoughts and prayers”.
Aside from donations to groups fighting for gun
legislation, I felt helpless…….and ended up dealing
with that paralyzing/pathetic feeling by starting a large mixed
media piece commemorating all the places in this country that
have endured mass shootings, beginning with Columbine (April 20,
1999:::::::13 dead, 24 injured)
During the initial two weeks of sketches, notes,
and data-gathering, the Highland Park massacre happened (July
4, 2022:::::::::7 dead, 48 injured).
I expanded my list.
During the nine months I worked on HOW. MANY. MORE,
literally hundreds of mass shootings occurred. I had recurring
nightmares of having to enlarge my piece to include each new horrendous
slaughter - a canvas that kept spooling and spooling and spooling
out of control........
I have been doing artwork about American gun violence
ever since the early ‘90s; one morning while reading the
Philadelphia Inquirer, I noticed that nearly every day there would
be a teeny little story, buried in the back pages, about some
unimaginable shooting:::::: a teenager killed for his sun glasses,
two young men killed leaving a movie, and on and on. WHY, I asked
myself, do we not rise up as a nation , and go screaming down
our streets begging for some kind of help?
Thirty years later, and even with increased national
awareness of this national sickness, I am still asking the same
question…….
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